


Moonclaw Glitter and Gum Wrappers

by Leela



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-20
Updated: 2011-10-20
Packaged: 2017-10-24 19:27:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/267012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leela/pseuds/Leela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neville needs to tell his parents that the war is over.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moonclaw Glitter and Gum Wrappers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eeyore9990](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeyore9990/gifts).



> **Beta** : aislinntlc
> 
>  **A/N** : A very belated birthday story for eeyore9990, who requested "Something with Neville and his parents, I hate that we never got resolution on that in canon".

Neville was sitting on what remained of the front steps of Hogwarts when Luna found him.

She stood at the bottom, looking up at him, with Harry standing next to her, and said, "It's time."

"I..." Neville stared down at his hands, his heart beating a staccato rhythm. "Gran would want—"

"Madam Pomfrey said that your grandmother won't be going anywhere for a while," Harry said. "It's just that... I got to talk to my parents before, well, before." He gave Neville a half-smile. "It helped, even though I couldn't really touch them."

"Gryffindor courage and all that," Neville said.

"Don't forget the moonclaw glitter." Luna beamed at him and held out both her hands. "It brightens everything."

Despite everything, Neville couldn't help but grin at her. Luna always knew how to make him feel better. "That too," he said, getting to his feet and going down to take one of her hands.

Harry took her other hand, and they Apparated together.

o*o

St Mungo's was a madhouse. Aurors, Healers, patients, and their families all seemed to be wandering around at cross-purposes. Luna led them through the chaos, a serene smile on her face. Neville thought he probably should be surprised that no one either recognised or stopped them, but he really wasn't. People could rave on about Hermione's intelligence all they wanted, but Luna got things done with a whole lot less bossiness.

All too soon, they were exiting the stairs on the fourth floor. Neville stopped just outside the door to the Janus Thickey Ward.

"They're not normal," he said. "I don't even know if they'll understand what I'm going to tell them. About the battle and Voldemort and everything."

"They love you, though. Despite everything." Harry gave Neville's hand a squeeze. "Even I could see that."

Neville forced a smile. "With your magical powers of observation?"

"Truly thick powers, according to some." Harry's return smile wasn't much better, but it was enough to give Neville the strength to pull his wand and say, " _Alohamora_."

There was a brief pause, as the charms on the ward tested Neville's magic, and then the door swung open. The mingled odours of medical and cleaning potions and what Neville always thought of as the 'sick people smell' washed out of the room. Neville wrinkled his nose and hesitated. He hadn't thought about how he'd have to talk to them in front of a bunch of strangers.

"Moonclaw glitter," Luna said again. Then she reached into one of the pockets of her dress, pulled out a silver orb, and shook it over the three of them. Faint sparkles hung in the air like dust motes in sunlight for a few seconds before dissipating.

Neville took a deep breath and felt whatever Luna had sprinkled enter his lungs. He didn't feel immediately better, or anything like that, but somehow he felt less alone. The door shutting behind him didn't make him feel trapped for once.

With Luna holding his left hand, and Harry his right, he walked down the long aisle to the two beds hidden behind a curtain at the far end.

o*o

One bed was empty, but Neville only had eyes for the second bed. His parents were curled up together. His mother's head was on his father's chest. His father's arms were wrapped about her protectively. They looked old, worn, fragile, and he wanted nothing more than to hold onto them and whisk them away from there.

Alice and Frank. The names drifted through Neville's mind. Sometimes he had a hard time thinking of them as Mum and Dad. He glanced at the bedside table and the crystal bowl of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. There was a stack of carefully flattened empty wrappers next to it. Neville's eyes began to burn, and he blinked.

Voices and the sounds of people moving came from the ward beyond the curtains. Neville twitched and glanced over his shoulder. He couldn't see anything through the ugly cotton fabric, but it was far too thin to provide any protection from invaders.

Harry released Neville's hand. "I'm going to set up some wards," he said, keeping his voice low.

"They have charms against that," Neville said.

"And you've got Harry and me." Luna gave him a bright smile. "Trust us."

After a moment's hesitation, his heart too full to speak, Neville gave them a nod and the best smile he could manage. They moved away from him, their voices joining in a quiet chant, and he went to perch on the edge of the bed where his parents slept.

As soon as the mattress dipped beneath his weight, his parents' eyes opened and they looked directly at him. There was a moment of awareness, of intensity and knowledge that they knew whom he was before their expressions faded into the blank near-emptiness that he'd known for as long as he could remember.

"Hi." Neville's greeting came out as more of a croak than anything else. He cleared his throat. "Mum. Dad."

Shifting in Frank's embrace so she was looking directly at him, Alice reached out to Neville, gave his leg a feather-light pat, and then withdrew again.

Putting his hand over the spot Alice had touched, Neville blurted out, "We won."

Alice raised her right hand and fluttered her fingers against her mouth. Frank just blinked at Neville, his mouth partly open and his breathing loud.

Before he could change his mind and leave, Neville continued, "Ha— Harry defeated Vol— Voldemort. Killed him this time. We got all the," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "you know whats, so there's no worry about him coming back this time."

Alice pressed a gum wrapper on the back of Neville's hand. He turned it palm up to accept the gift — reward? — and her hand darted away, quick as a butterfly.

"Anyway," he said, looking down at the wrapper. "I thought you'd want to know."

"Neville's a hero, too." Harry came to stand behind Neville. "A bigger one than me in a lot of ways, even if the _Prophet_ doesn't see it that way."

Face flushing, Neville waved his hand and mumbled, "I just happened to be in the right place."

"He fought the Death Eaters at Hogwarts," Harry said, "and he sliced the head off Nagini, Voldemort's snake, with Gryffindor's sword. It was amazing."

"Neville was amazing." Luna put one arm around Neville's shoulder and leaned against him. "He looked like an avenging angel, wreathed in flames."

A shy smile appeared on Alice's face for an instant before fading away and being replaced by a vacant expression.

Despite his embarrassment, Neville found himself wanting to have his mum back again, even if only for one more second. His hands shaking, playing with the gum wrapper, he said, "Bellatrix Lestrange is dead. Mrs Weasley, Ginny's mum, killed her."

There was absolute silence, so complete that Neville had to check to see that his parents were still breathing, and then Frank said in a singsong voice, "Ding dong."

Hearing his father's voice for the first time wrenched a sound from Neville that was half-sob, half-laugh. Before he could stop himself, he reached out to hold one of each of his parents' hands. He all but held his breath when he realised that he'd done what Gran always warned him against doing.

But they didn't pull back, didn't throw fits. Instead, he found himself being drawn down to them and wrapped in their arms, in a hug he thought he'd never ever have. He held on tight, not letting go until he felt his mother's fingers flap against his back.

His parents sat up awkwardly, still touching each other, as Neville swiped a hand across his eyes.

"Good," his mother murmured, and then began to hum and rock. "My good boy."

His father patted his arm and gave him a nod.

Somewhere behind Neville, he could hear voices again, but he ignored them until Harry said, "Apparently, it's past dinner time, and we're disturbing the other patients and interfering with it. If I don't take down my protection spells, they're going to call security and have us thrown out."

"The healer doesn’t like change," Luna said, spinning around. "She worries too much about it attracting Nargles and hurting her patients."

"All right," Neville nodded, and made another of those strange sounds when his mother gave him a second gum wrapper.

With Luna and Harry's help, Neville got to his feet and began stumbling out. At the door, he looked back to see that the curtains around his parents' beds were open. They were still sitting on the same bed, watching him leave.

As the door closed behind them, Luna and Harry moved close to Neville, and he found himself walking down the corridor with his arms around them and their arms around him. His best friends.

With their support, he realised that he could do just about anything, even bring his parents home. His gran might not like it, but he was an adult now. If she didn't want them in her house, he'd find one of his own.


End file.
